But many women who’ve been there — including the members of the Ad Hoc Committee of Women Pregnant By Sexual Assault (WPSA) — say that abortion will harm, not help, women who become pregnant through sexual assault.

If abortion is seen as the solution, women who become pregnant through rape will be more likely to be pressured to abort, face discrimination or disbelief about their stories and have difficulty finding the support they need.

The book Victims and Victors, based on one of the only surveys ever done of women who became pregnant through rape or incest, includes the story of a woman who was pressured to abort by medical personnel and family members after becoming pregnant through rape while her husband was in the military:

Abortion was very strongly encouraged by the military medical personnel, as well as by my husband and family. My husband said, “Abortion now,” while I was still in the hospital. He called my parents, who agreed with him. I was told I was emotionally unable to make the decision, so my husband would make if for me. I checked myself out of the hospital to escape a forced abortion. I could not rationalize how the violent act committed against me gave me the right to commit a violent act against an innocent child …

Women and girls who become pregnant through rape or incest need real support and resources, not the additional trauma of abortion. As rape survivor Kathleen pointed out in Victims and Victors:

Women who have gone through the trauma of rape or incest need to be counseled, cared for and listened to. If they conceived, they need to be encouraged to work through [any] anger and bitterness. I believe that to encourage a woman to have an abortion is to add even more violence to her life. … [A] woman is most vulnerable at a time such as this, and doesn’t need to be pounced upon by yet another act of violence. She needs someone to truly listen to her, care for her, and give her time to heal.

LifeNews.com Note: Amy Sobie is the editor of The Post-Abortion Review, a quarterly publication of the Elliot Institute. The organization is a widely respected leader in research and analysis of medical, mental health and other complications resulting from abortions.